The Appeal Court in FCT, Abuja has dismissed the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang.
The lead Justice, Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, in her riling on Sunday, November 19, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission –INEC, to issue a Certificate of Return to the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Nentawe Goshwe.
Justice Williams-Dawodu had set aside the judgment of the Tribunal which approved the election of Governor Mutfwang, tagging it as grossly incompetent.
According to the court, the decision of the tribunal to sack the petition filed by the APC and its candidate on the condition that the duo had no business intervening in the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party –PDP, on which platform Mutfwang was elected is in breach of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as revised and Section 134 (C) of the Electoral Act.
The court also held that contrary to the decision of the tribunal that the issues contained in the petition filed by the appellants were pre-election issues, they were both pre-election and post-election issues and could not have been considered status barred.
While citing section 177 of the Constitution, the panel emphasised that Mutfwang was not legally sponsored by the PDP during the election.
It held that the party flouted the court order that a justifiable congress be conducted in the 17 local government areas of that state, by organising congress in only five local government areas of the state, and as such is considered invalid.
While citing section 136 of the Electoral Act, the court directed INEC to retrieve the certificate of return issued to Governor Mutfwang and issue a fresh certificate of return to Goshwe.
Justice Okon Abang finally advised that unless the PDP resolved its issues in Plateau State, it would always suffer self-inflicted woes.
